CSMConnect Spring 2019 (Issue 13)

KSU College of Science and Mathematics

Issue 13 / Spring 2019

CSMConnect is the College of Science and Mathematics (CSM) biannual newsletter designed to keep you informed of the latest activities and developments going on in the college.

CSM values the networks developed with partners on and off campus. You are important in our network of partners. CSM provides students a high quality and innovative academic experience through our six minor programs, seven undergraduate degrees, and three masters programs. Students can create their own learning experience through provided tracks, research, and specialized courses. CSM is soaring into the next level of national prominence through cutting-edge research.

Creative Designer Leah Bishop Copy Editors Leah Bishop Vickie Burris Contributors Tiffany Capuano, University Relations Paul Floeckher, University Relations Robert Godlewski, University Relations JoĂŤlle Wells, Office of Research Photographers David Caselli, University Relations Sara Blunk Franka, CSM JoĂŤlle Walls, Office of Research Interim Dean Donald McGarey, Ph.D. On the cover

Hope Didier, Biology major

Steven Ho, Biology major

Zeljka Zec, Chemistry major

In This Issue Dr. Donald McGarey named interim dean

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College Briefs

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Kennesaw State elevated to R2 doctoral university

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Kennesaw State to host NCUR April 11-13, 2019

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Fully Charged

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Cellular Research

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Patient Research

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On the Hunt

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French Connection

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Research on bats funded by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

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csm.kennesaw.edu

Dr. Donald McGarey named interim dean Donald McGarey, chair and professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, has been named interim dean of the College of Science and Mathematics at Kennesaw State University.

“Under Mark Anderson’s leadership, the College moved in many positive directions including enhanced student success, improved infrastructure and opportunities for research, and increased faculty and staff leadership development,” said McGarey. “As interim dean, I am looking forward to sustaining the momentum generated by Dean Anderson and the college’s faculty, staff and students.”

As an example of this forward trajectory, last summer, through the efforts of the College of Science and Mathematics, KSU was one of 57 recipients of a $1 million five-year award from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to significantly increase institutional inclusion and diversity in STEM undergraduate education. This grant will serve to enhance the student success initiative programs already implemented by the College.

“The position appeals to me because it has a significant role in enhancing the educational value for our students, while also elevating the research activity and profile through the efforts of our excellent faculty, staff and students,” he said.

The College of Science and Mathematics serves nearly 3,500 undergraduate majors and 100 graduate students through seven undergraduate and three master’s degree programs. The College serves the majority of non-majors through math, statistics and science general education coursework as well as providing the physics, math, statistics, chemistry and biology courses for STEM programs outside the College.

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“Through dedicated efforts and our strategic vision over the past 20 years, KSU has changed from a primarily undergraduate, commuter institution to the comprehensive, first choice, R2 institution it is today,” said McGarey. “I’m looking forward to serving as interim dean of CSM to continue our excellence in preparing students for success through innovative, meaningful academic experiences and to do our part to grow KSU’s research enterprise.”

McGarey joined the KSU faculty in 1998 as an associate professor in the Department of Biology and Physics. There he rose through the ranks first as department chair and then as chair of the newly-formed Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology following consolidation with Southern Polytechnic State University in 2015. He most recently served as interim vice president for research, overseeing the Office of Research responsible for supporting externally funded research, service and creative activity at KSU. On the college level, McGarey has provided instruction and course development for several graduate and undergraduate courses in the microbial sciences, biology and interdisciplinary courses. He was instrumental in establishing the Master of Science in Integrative Biology program, which has been identified as an emerging paradigm by the National Academy of Sciences.

McGarey earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in microbiology from Louisiana State University and his doctorate in biology from the University of South Florida.

Many thanks to Dr. Mark Anderson, Dean, as he transitions to the role of provost at University of Northern Colorado for the significant contributions, leadership and development to improve the College’s increased enrollment, external funding and scholarly output the past seven years.

College Briefs Birla Carbon renews commitment for undergraduate research Birla Carbon pledges renewal of five-year commitment to the Birla Carbon Scholars Program at Kennesaw State University in the College of Science and Mathematics. The Donor gift of $275,000 will provide fifty-five students the opportunity to conduct research over the next five summers while receiving a stipend of $4,000. The top student research presentation at the Birla Carbon Symposium each fall semester, will receive additional travel expenses to present at a national conference.

Judges will comprise of Birla Carbon scientists.

KSU researcher awarded NIH grant to improve gene-editing technology delivery Kennesaw State University researcher Daniel Morris recently received a three-year $403,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to improve the delivery of protein therapeutics and the CRISPR/Cas gene-editing technology to living cells. His research is focused on attaching a CPP-adaptor protein to the cargo of the critical DNA or protein therapeutics.

Upon entering the cell membrane, the CPP-adaptor protein would release the cargo into the cell interior before getting trapped in an undesirable location.

Graduate student researches nervous system development Elyse Christensen, a non-traditional graduate student in the Master of Science in Integrative Biology, is using state-of-the-art technology to understand developmental processes in the nervous system. After graduating with a music degree in 2007, Christensen worked for several non-profits before deciding to apply for graduate school. When she found herself directing conversations toward new scientific findings or interesting organisms, she started to consider the move to scientific research. Thanks to financial support offered to Kennesaw State University’s MSIB candidates, she was able to carve her niche as a scientific researcher and biology student. Christensen is now gathering preliminary data on nervous system development that will go into Dr. Martin Hudson’s National Science Foundation proposal.

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Kennesaw State elevated to R2 doctoral university Kennesaw State University has been elevated to an “R2” designated institution – doctoral university with high research activity – in the revised 2018 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Learning, the second-highest classification for research institutions in the country. KSU is one of only 259 institutions to carry the “R1” or “R2” designation.

According to the Carnegie classifications, doctoral research institutions are those that awarded at least 20 research/scholarship doctoral degrees during the upgrade year and had at least $5 million in research expenditures.

“This is an exciting step forward for Kennesaw State and places the University among a select group of institutions in the nation,” said President Pamela Whitten. “In addition to our expanding doctoral programs, this designation is especially significant for our students who are benefitting from increased opportunities to work alongside faculty researchers on important discoveries, while learning, first-hand, how to engage in their own research.”

In April 2019, Kennesaw State will host more 4,000 student researchers from around the country at the 33rd annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research. This is the first time a university in Georgia has hosted this national conference.

Praising the efforts of faculty, students and staff, Whitten said, “As you all know, our goals for KSU have been to enhance student success and the student experience to become the best R3 in the country. We will now be revising the latter goal to become one of the top R2 universities in the U.S.” Kennesaw State was elevated in 2015 to an R3 doctoral research institution from its previous classification as a larger Master’s College and University – M1.

The Carnegie Classification has been the leading framework for recognizing and describing diversity among U.S. higher education institutions since 1970, when the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education developed the method of classifying colleges and universities to support its program of research and policy analysis. The classifications, derived from empirical data on colleges and universities, reflect changes among institutions and are used in the study of higher education.

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Kennesaw State to host NCUR April 11-13, 2019 Kennesaw State University will host the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) this year. Organizers expect more than 4,000 students from about 400 colleges and universities to converge on KSU for the 33rd annual NCUR, April 11-13, 2019.

“The conference has never been held in Georgia before, so this is a really good opportunity for Kennesaw State in particular, but also the University System of Georgia to coalesce around undergraduate research,” Dr. Amy Buddie, director of Kennesaw State’s Office of Undergraduate Research, said. “We have a great campus. We’re going to show off for the nation’s undergraduate researchers.”

Being selected to host the national conference affirms KSU’s commitment to research, Buddie said.

Kennesaw State was chosen as this year’s host in 2016, the same year that KSU began its Office of Undergraduate Research and the University was elevated to an R3 Carnegie classified institution.

Undergraduate research is a key element of Kennesaw State’s strategic plan, and the University’s administration has increased funding for research in recent years, according to Buddie.

“It’s becoming known that we’re a hotbed of this,” she said. “Hosting NCUR means that everybody at the national organization, the Council on Undergraduate Research, knows about Kennesaw State University and why we’re important. On a national level, Kennesaw State is on the map in terms of undergraduate research.”

Case in point, KSU’s 93 students at last year’s NCUR were second only to the number from the host institution, the University of Central Oklahoma. With the conference in their backyard next year, Buddie is optimistic that Kennesaw State’s participation could rival the 441 students who presented at KSU’s annual Symposium of Student Scholars in April.

Also, unlike other conferences that are devoted to a specific discipline, “there is a space for everybody” at NCUR, Buddie said. Seven of Kennesaw State’s academic colleges were represented at the 2018 conference, with undergraduate students showcasing their research on a variety of subjects including architecture, art, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, psychology and public health.

NCUR also could spark an interest among students who aren’t already conducting research, Buddie explained. KSU students could be given class assignments pertaining to NCUR – such as attending presentations and writing about them – while some students might volunteer to help during the conference and others might stop by simply to see what NCUR is.

“Think about a first-year student who maybe has the stereotype that research is only for people in biology and chemistry,” Buddie said. “Then they go to an hour of sessions in their discipline and they think, ‘That is the coolest thing. I want to do that.’ So I think it can really be a catalyst for undergraduate research on our campus for the students who aren’t yet doing it.”

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Fully Charged Student’s research extends battery life Zeljka Zec, originally from Croatia, had little understanding of undergraduate research when she first arrived at Kennesaw State, but when a biology professor asked students if they’d like to volunteer to conduct research in the lab, she jumped at the opportunity.

It was the chemistry major’s first foray into undergraduate research. She volunteered a few hours each week, and the experience sparked her enthusiasm for doing more research, but this time within her field of chemistry. Today, her research efforts now focus on a specific interest area – alternative materials in rechargeable batteries.

Zec, an Honors College student who will graduate in December, hopes her study will help to improve and extend battery life and performance. She will present her research at NCUR

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2019 for the first time.

What is your research area?

I conduct research dealing with nanomaterials design, synthesis and characterization methods in the Inorganic Chemistry Lab. Currently, I am investigating alternative materials to coat a battery’s cathode – the positive charge of a battery. When a battery discharges, the element it is typically coated in – manganese oxide – dissolves, causing a loss of active material and altering the battery performance during the charging phase.

Using a homogeneous sol-gel sodium dioxide coating, we are able to control the thickness of the coatings to lessen the cathode breakdown, which is one of the main limitations of manganese dioxidebased cathodes in aqueous batteries. We are also analyzing the surface of silica-coated manganese dioxide cathodes.

To our knowledge, there is no established method for surface coatings to prevent the cathode’s breakdown. Our research will shed light on surface effects with insoluble oxide layers, which should ideally mitigate the dissolution.

This could benefit all different battery types that have the same problem.

Who (and/or what) has been your inspiration for your research?

I have the great privilege of working with my mentor, Dr. Altug Poyraz, assistant professor of inorganic chemistry, who has been a huge inspiration for me.

Since the first day in the lab, he has always shown me his constant dedication in the research he does. When I first started working in lab, I was afraid of making mistakes or failing at my project. However, Dr. Poyraz taught me that mistakes are a normal part of growth and learning, especially in the science field, where everything is about trial and error with experiments. He taught me to learn from those mistakes and implement the

knowledge gained from them.

Dr. Poyraz always goes above and beyond to share his knowledge and has patience to explain to me anything that I need more clarification on.

Not only has he shown me what hard work, perseverance, discipline and devotion means, but he has also helped me become more confident and independent in my scientific abilities. Seeing his success makes me want to work more toward mine and inspires me every day to do the best I can to achieve my goals and dreams.

What motivated you to get involved with undergraduate research and NCUR? As a first-generation student, I didn’t know anything about doing research. During my junior year, one of my biology lab professors asked if anyone was willing to help her with research. I volunteered to commit a few hours every week to conduct biological data analysis in her field.

After a few months, I realized that I wanted to pursue this kind of commitment in chemistry research since I always enjoyed the hands-on experience in my chemistry lab classes. I started talking to different upper-level professors to see what I would like to do best.

Getting involved in undergraduate research has been one of my top highlights at KSU because it is so rewarding to get to work on your project on your own time

and get to be the main person to contribute to the research and get results that you can showcase at conferences like NCUR. It is also a great experience to work with other team members in my lab, where we can all learn, discover and benefit from each other.

What have you gained (or hope to gain) from your experience with NCUR? I hope to gain new perspectives, ideas and feedback on how I apply my knowledge and skills. It is always a great feeling to be able to showcase my ongoing work and be able to explain to curious observers what an impact I am making by contributing my time, effort and passion into doing research to represent not only KSU and the science community but also first-generation, minority students. I’m also excited to be part of the Undergraduate Research NCUR Committee, where I have helped to organize and prepare everything for NCUR at KSU this year.

Although I haven’t presented directly at NCUR due to limited funding in the past, I have attended KSU’s Symposium of Student Scholars as well as SERMACS, a STEM-based research conference. It has been an amazing experience to present my work and see what kind of other smart, young minds these conferences bring together.

when faced with issues. I was also one of 15 undergraduate researchers to have breakfast with President Whitten to talk about my research.

What advice would you give to others about doing undergraduate research or participating in NCUR? I believe everybody should take the opportunity to do undergraduate research because it brings so much knowledge, creativity and strong critical-thinking skills, which can bring success in whatever a student decides to do. Doing research serves as a trail to uncover new interests or interest areas outside of the typical classroom learning.

The biggest advice is to not be afraid to reach out to professors and see what type of research they do.

By doing research, I became proficient in using published literature, critical thinking and time management skills as well as hands-on experience. My understanding of chemistry has dramatically increased, which has helped me do better in my classes and become more self-assured in the science environment.

Now more than ever, we need research leaders who are not afraid to step up in order to further move toward a prosperous and progressive future.

Attending different conferences has helped me gain potential ideas on how to continue and improve my research and how to change my perspective

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Cellular Research Kennesaw State University junior Hope Didier conducts her research inside the McMurry Lab in the College of Science and Mathematics. Every time she steps inside the lab, she knows there will always be some exciting research to pique her interest.

“My lab focuses on a variety of projects,” said Didier, who is a third-year student with a double major in Biology and Dance. “For example, we’re using cell-penetrating peptides, or CPPs, to deliver molecular cargos into the cell,” she said.

By delivering different molecules into the cells through the use of CPPs, there is great potential for altering environments within living cells for therapeutic and research purposes.

Didier, who is from Peachtree City and an Honors College student, presented her findings at her first NCUR last year.

“The only NCUR I have attended was the 2018 NCUR held in Oklahoma, but I do hope that this was just the first of many to come,” she said.

What is your research area?

I conduct research in Molecular and Cellular Biology, under the mentorship of Associate Vice President for Research and Professor of Chemistry Jonathan McMurry and Julia LeCher, who is a postdoctoral research associate and part-time assistant professor of cell biology. My lab focuses on a variety of projects. The work I presented at NCUR 2018 involved the delivery of myoglobin to the mitochondria of cells via a novel cell-penetrating peptide that was developed in the lab that I work in. Using cell penetrating peptides or CPPs to deliver molecular cargos into the cell holds great potential for altering environments within living cells for therapeutic and research purposes.

What and/or who has been your inspiration for your research? What interests you the most?

When asked who has been my inspiration for my research, I think the person that I want to be in the future is what continues to serve as my inspiration and drives me to do the work that I do. If I

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keep striving to educate myself and grow and develop my mind I will be able to help others do so in the future. The research process interests me entirely. The fact that we as researchers can sometimes blindly approach a question and with the knowledge that we do have, attempt to answer it, is challenging but so fulfilling once you reach the conclusion and are able to share it with others.

What motivated you to get involved with undergraduate research and NCUR? My mentors, Dr. Jonathan McMurry and Dr. Julia LeCher were the ones that specifically motivated me to present at NCUR; however, it was the connections that I made my freshman year with other students in the President’s Emerging Global Scholar program that jump-started my involvement in undergraduate research.

What have you gained (or hope to gain) from your experience with NCUR? After attending NCUR 2018, I gained an immense amount of humility and pride, as contrasting as that sounds. Humility in the sense that there are so many intelligent young minds all around the country that come together to support one another and support undergraduate research and are excited to share what they have learned, and pride because I am so incredibly proud to be a part of this generation of young scholars.

What advice would you give to others about doing undergraduate research or participating in NCUR? A great deal of the work that I have done as an undergraduate is unheard of at other universities.

Kennesaw State University puts a large emphasis on supporting their students in research endeavors. With that said, I would say if presented with the opportunity to conduct undergraduate research, especially here at KSU, embrace it with open arms. Being able to participate in research has been a highlight of my time at KSU and although it can be challenging and difficult to juggle when combined with a full class schedule, it is such an honor.

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Patient Research Student’s meticulous work could help treat diseases Steven Ho, a senior biology major, is conducting cell research that could assist in the treatment of cancer and other diseases. The goal of the research, led by professor of chemistry Jonathan McMurry and his postdoctoral associate Julia LeCher, is to develop protein-based therapeutics and novel delivery platforms for the treatment of disease.

Most diseases are the result of mutated, damaged or missing genes, and replacing a damaged gene is very difficult. Ho and his fellow researchers are going directly to the end product and replacing the protein, using protein delivery to develop therapeutics and better understand the molecular mechanisms of disease-related genes and other cellular processes.

Ho, who plans to graduate in July, participated in NCUR for the first time last year and will present again at the 2019 conference.

What is your research area?

I research molecular and cellular biology with professors Dr. Jonathan McMurry and Dr. Julia LeCher. I presented at the 2018 NCUR on how APE-1, a multi-functional protein, could be relocated throughout different parts of the cell under certain conditions using a novel

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cell-penetrating peptide that was developed in the lab I work in. The basis for our lab’s research and this project was to use these cellpenetrating peptides (CPPs) as a cellular delivery mechanism. As we often say in my lab, “Without using the train’s engine to pull the caboose, we can’t drop off the cargo that it carries.” Our CPPs act as the engine that allows APE-1 to be pulled into the cell where it then detaches from the engine. When APE-1 goes to the nucleus, it keeps its usual functions such as DNA repair.

But when we get it into cancer cells, APE-1 stays in the cytosol, the liquid found inside cells.

This is a common, though poorly understood, phenomena in carcinomas. We currently are working on a method to track movement of our protein throughout the cell in real-time under different disease-like states. This research will help shed light on how APE-1’s change in cellular location relates to diseases such as cancer.

What (and/or who) has been your inspiration for your research?

My older sister was the first in our family to graduate college after my parents immigrated to the United States. While she was at KSU, she did research with Dr. Thomas McElroy. The first time I ever really saw anything about her research was when she presented at the College of Science and Mathematics’ annual Fall Research Symposium. I remember looking around at the other students and thinking how it was so amazing that other people my age were working on projects that no one else ever had

I am twice as excited as I was last year since I still can discover new things and be able to represent KSU on a higher standard.

What advice would you give to others about doing undergraduate research or participating in NCUR?

done before. They were exploring new territories in their fields. Now, my sister is attending pharmacy school so she can go into research and create new therapeutic drugs that are more effective and safer for to use.

What motivated you to get involved with undergraduate research and NCUR? I can credit my passion for research to my best friend and fellow biology major, David Axford. When I first came to Kennesaw State University, I didn’t have any plans to involve myself in research, let alone knew what it really involved. David exposed me to the research field where I met my amazing lab mates, Emma Parks and Luke Dickson. Being able to perform experiments side by side with the three of them under the guidance of Dr. McMurry and Dr. LeCher motivated me to work hard.

Doing research is a blessing if you can get into it. It can open up a lot of opportunities and, while you think that you have to produce the best results every day you come in, it might not always be like that. There are days that nothing goes your way and nothing gets accomplished. My best advice is to take it slow.

Not every experiment works on every trial. When something blew up in my face (figuratively) from all the mistakes I made, I often thought that I was never doing enough work to produce enough results and I ended up overworking to try and do something right. When you work a part-time job, take a full class load, and have other extracurricular commitments, it’s important to assess what your goals are and what you need to do to meet them. As the old adage says, slow and steady wins the race.

What have you gained from your experience with NCUR? At last year’s NCUR, I gained a lot of interest in other fields. I went to every session I could and saw a variety of fields that I generally don’t pay attention to while I’m at school. I went to a session where Megan, a researcher from Montana State, talked about her ecology research in pikas (small mammals that are closely related to rabbits and hares) and realized that they sound as cute as they look.

I met Spencer, also from Montana State, who studied engineering technology using ceramic microfibers. As a student representative assisting in the planning of the 2019 conference,

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On the Hunt Math major searches for answers to African sleeping sickness Sagi Shaier’s research on the spread of African trypanosomiasis, also known as “African sleeping sickness,” has brought the recent Kennesaw State University graduate international recognition.

Shaier, a pre-med student who majored in computational applied mathematics with a minor in statistics, graduated summa cum laude last semester.

Along with his faculty mentor, mathematics professor Meghan Burke, Shaier conducted epidemiological research on the spread of the disease by wild and domestic animals. As one of 10 2018 Birla Carbon Scholars, Shaier was able to focus over the summer on his core research interests: mathematics, biology and medicine.

The pair’s research challenged the assumption that because domestic animals can be hosts for diseasespreading parasites, keeping domestic animals near human populations increases the spread of the disease.

They were invited to present their findings at the joint 2018 Annual Meeting of the Society for Mathematical Biology and the Japanese Society for Mathematical Biology, in Sydney, Australia. Out of more than 100 poster presentations, where 95 percent of the students were graduate students, Shaier’s work was rewarded with a third-place prize.

Sagi explaining his poster to the Chair of the meeting, Mary Myerscough of the University of Sydney, at th 2018 Annual Meeting of the Society for Mathematical Biology

The Human African Trypanosomiasis parasite, which causes African sleeping sickness, is transmitted by the tsetse fly as a vector.

“It has several possible hosts, including wild and domestic animals, which are not as negatively impacted by the disease as the human host,” Shaier said. “However, several parameters found in the literature, including the shorter lifespan of the male tsetse fly vector, and the female vector’s preference for domestic animals, made us think that the animals’ presence could reduce the impact on the humans, instead of making it worse.”

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The researchers developed a differential equation model to examine whether increasing the domestic animal population can be used to deflect the infection to humans and reduce its impact.

“Our equations were built to mimic a real village in Africa in which there are people who live and work, domestic animals and tsetse flies,” Shaier said. “Since every equation affects another – the flies affect the humans, but the humans also affect the flies – our model is a complex 9-dimensional matrix.”

Using special software, the pair were able to easily change the parameters in each model and immediately see the effects on the affected biological system over a 20-year period.

“Our analyses allowed us to propose novel methods of controlling the impact of the disease on humans,” said Shaier, who plans to become a physician.

They hope their work could lead to new ways of controlling the impact of the disease on humans.

Although Shaier was taking eight classes last semester – for a total of 23 credits – and spending tens of hours each week on his studies and research activities, he still could be found most Sunday afternoons tutoring STEM students in the Science Laboratory Building atrium.

Glen Meades, lecturer of chemistry and biochemistry, who has taught Shaier, said that’s not unusual.

“Students are there to help each other learn, and Sagi is there almost every Sunday,” Meades said.

“Sagi is a very driven individual who has become a good friend to many students in the STEM community.”

Meades described Shaier as a very intelligent person who sets high standards for himself.

“Sagi is a stickler for going to class,” Meades said. “He is always there and he gets very disappointed in himself when he doesn’t meet his standards. He expects perfection from himself 100 percent, all of the time. He is not satisfied with less than perfection.”

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French Connection

“Conducting some of my research at IBS also helps to bring international recognition for my work in my lab at KSU,” she said.

Kennesaw State biology professor creates international research partnership

Smith, who has been serving as an official mentor to life sciences doctoral student Annelise Vermot since October, 2016, will continue in this capacity until Vermot finishes her dissertation in December. Vermot has been conducting research on the NADPH oxidase or Nox protein at IBS, utilizing both neutron scattering equipment and a synchrotron, a sophisticated particle accelerator.

Biology professor Susan M.E. Smith’s research in the NADPH oxidase structure and function field is so well regarded, French researchers in her field have joined with her to create a unique international partnership between Kennesaw State University and the Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS), a unit of the Université Grenoble Alpes.

KSU’s pact with the IBS provides funding for Smith, a Foundation Fellow in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, to conduct research at IBS. The agreement also allows a doctoral student in life sciences from France to spend one month a year in Smith’s KSU lab over the next three years, conducting research under Smith’s guidance.

“It’s exciting to have a life sciences Ph.D. student working alongside me in my lab,” said Smith.

“It’s this type of global research collaboration that advances our work in the NADPH oxidase structure and function field in new and impressive ways.”

Another benefit is that Smith’s work at the world-renowned, EU-funded center of physical techniques may elevate the international science community’s interest in her research.

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Together at KSU, they are hunting for new ways to defeat certain bacteria-causing organisms that can wreak havoc with our immune systems, causing disease and even death.

Annelise VermotAnnelise Vermot is conducting her dissertation research at KSU and at her home institution in France.

“Good things happen when we work together as a team,” said Smith. “We can compare notes in real time, so it makes it much easier when you’re working around each other exchanging ideas.”

Vermot agreed. “This is different and better, working together. You can read all the various publications about the research others in your field are doing, but here you are working alongside each other,” she said. “Here we can put our ideas together. Susan has helped me so much in gathering knowledge. Each person brings his or her own background and expertise.”

Under Smith’s guidance, Vermot is making excellent progress on her Ph.D. project, experimenting about Nox protein function. She is measuring how fast mutant forms of the Nox protein work, which helps unravel which parts of the protein are important for proper function.

This work is a major focus of health-related research.

“The best thing about this situation is the international partnership,” Smith said. “The Université Grenoble appreciates all that the people at KSU have to offer, and I’m pretty excited about mentoring a Ph.D. student in the life sciences. This is a good harbinger for the future at KSU.” The agreement resulted from Smith’s discussions during the past decade with fellow scientists, Franck Fieschi and Marie-José Stasia of IBS and the Université Grenoble Alpes. The three had bonded over their mutual admiration for their shared interest into the use of enzymes to manipulate or control the structure and certain aspects of the body’s Nox gene to fight disease.

using various instruments to measure their effectiveness.”

To aid her in her work Vermot uses a spectrometer with a special microplate reader capable of analyzing more than 90 specimens at a time.

“You have to use a spectrometer to see the change, if any, in the reaction. I am modifying parts within a protein to offset this activity,” Vermot said. “I then test the modifications one at a time to see if they play an important role, to see how this protein could work.”

The parts of the protein Vermot refers to are coded for by its DNA. “While we are not likely to develop any new drugs,” Smith said. “Our work may lead others to develop new drugs where Nox is involved in diseases like those affecting the vascular system, the heart, cancer and diabetes, along with CGD – chronic granulomatous disease – a genetic disease caused by defects in the Nox gene that can make people very sick.”

“The nice thing about our collaboration is that the things that Annelise has learned in France and that she and I have learned together in our lab advances her educational program and also helps my research program,” Smith said. “We are thinking about the same thing and focusing on the same things.”

This particular research collaboration is a first for KSU’s College of Science and Mathematics.

The scope of Vermot’s work at KSU is mutually decided by Fieschi, Smith and herself, depending on what has happened in other aspects of her Ph.D. work in France.

“A typical day for me in the lab here,” Vermot said, “involves investigating the effect of changing, or mutating, specific parts of the Nox protein. I’m working with many different proteins, different mutant versions of Nox, and doing several mixes to do the reaction and

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Research on bats funded by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Multi-year grant focuses on integrated disease management of white-nose syndrome in bats Kennesaw State microbiologist Chris Cornelison is among a collaborative team of researchers awarded a $365,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to combat white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease causing the rapid decline of tricolored bats in Texas.

The research will focus on pursuing treatment trials for the invasive white-nose syndrome with partnering researchers from three higher education institutions – Kennesaw State, Texas A&M and Lock Haven University – and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

“Bats represent 20 percent of all known mammals,” said Cornelison, director of KSU’s BioInnovation Laboratory and one of the co-principal investigators of the grant. “This evolutionary lineage is a precious portion of Earth’s biodiversity and worthy of significant conservation efforts.”

The multi-year grant from the NSFW’s Bats for the Future Fund was awarded to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, with a subaward

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to Kennesaw State for its integrated disease management approach.

“Invasive fungal diseases have a terrible history of devastation and without intervention, these pathogens can drive susceptible species to extinction,” he said. “This reality is responsible for the sense of urgency around white-nose syndrome and the development of feasible management techniques.”

Cornelison is responsible for developing the treatments and monitoring the efficacies of the treatments, and is joined by Melissa Meierhofer, a research associate with Texas A&M’s Natural Resources Institute, who will assist with monitoring for the fungus and white-nose syndrome and gathering census data, and Barrie Overton, a professor of biology at Lock Haven University, who has extensive knowledge of the antimicrobial treatment that will be utilized.

“Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is thrilled to have such an accomplished team dedicated to helping Texas bats, and we are honored to be selected by the Bats for the Future Fund,” said state mammologist Jonah Evans.

White-nose syndrome, first detected in 2006 in New York, is caused by a fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, and has spread to 33 states and seven Canadian provinces. The pathogen attacks hibernating bats and has wiped out 100 percent of the population in some sites.

“It is a very unique situation in Texas where 70 percent of the tricolored bat population roosts in roadway associated culverts – manmade, artificial culverts,” explained Cornelison. “We can deliver mitigation strategies to a very large portion of the state’s population without the risk of carry-over effects with local ecology.”

The mitigation efforts include applying high-pressure steam disinfection during the summer when bats are not roosting in the culverts; applying an antimicrobial, polyethylene glycol, to the surfaces within the culverts to suppress environmental proliferation of the pathogen; and applying anti-fungal fumigants (that are being developed at KSU) to the sites while the bats are hibernating.

The Bats for the Future Fund was established in 2016 to provide grants for existing and new disease treatment and management practices to reduce the devastating effects of white-nose syndrome. The BFF is a public-private partnership between the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, Southern Company and the Avangrid Foundation. More than $1.1 million was awarded in the 2018 cycle.

Graduate student Kelly Lutsch has spent time surveying bat populations in Georgia, conducting a census, and evaluating fungal infestation.

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